The invention disclosed and claimed herein incorporates a dynamometer which is utilized in conjunction with other system components to facilitate tuning of an automobile's operational characteristics and components for specific simulated conditions, such as those found at a particular race track.
Dynamometers per se are well known and are employed in conjunction with automobiles primarily for the purpose of testing the automobiles under load to obtain emissions data. Engines themselves have been positioned on dynamometers for other types of testing purposes and then installed on the automobile chassis.
A search of the prior art located the following United States patents disclosing dynamometers and related equipment believed to exemplify the present state of the prior art in the automotive testing field:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,792, issued Mar. 14, 1995, U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,685, issued May 12, 1992, U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,866, issued Jun. 26, 1984, U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,042, issued Jan. 31, 1995, U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,565, issued Jan. 4, 1994, U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,660, issued Apr. 7, 1992, U.S. Pat. No. 4,186,593, issued Feb. 5, 1980, U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,460, issued Dec. 27, 1994, U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,076, issued Oct. 13, 1992, U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,038, issued Mar. 19, 1991, U.S. Pat. No. 3,690,165, issued Sep. 12, 1972, U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,461, issued Dec. 27, 1994, U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,077, issued Oct. 13, 1992, U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,690, issue May 2, 1989, U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,116, issued Jul. 17, 1979, U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,644, issued Jun. 28, 1994.
None of the patents teach or suggest the combination of structural elements employed in the system disclosed and claimed herein for testing and evaluating the performance of an automobile under simulated conditions.
Throughout the world race teams have only one goal: Win the race. Literally billions of dollars are spent annually in the pursuit of speed on the race track. Modern race cars are extremely expensive. Top Indycar teams, for example, commonly spend more than five million dollars to campaign a one car effort over a nine month season.
Stakes are high in the field of automobile racing and teams constantly strive to improve the efficiency and performance of their vehicles. Millions of dollars are spent annually in research, testing and design. The cost for practice sessions and travel can easily consume between one-quarter and one-half of a team's annual budget.
The apparatus of the present invention has as one of its major objectives assisting race teams to become more successful while developing faster race cars. Much research is carried out "on the track", an expensive and sometimes risky practice. Furthermore, the only feasible way for race teams to actually test their vehicles for performance on a particular track has been to drive the track during practice sessions. Such an approach is a major expense but, up to now, has been considered a necessary part of a winning racing team's overall program.
Utilizing the apparatus disclosed and claimed herein teams can save both time and money when testing and refining the structure of the race car. Furthermore, through utilization of the apparatus there is significantly lower risk of vehicle loss as well as a significant increase in driver track awareness.
The apparatus incorporates a central processing unit programmed to simulate real-time track conditions for a particular track. This will significantly improve a race team's position prior to arriving at the track on or just before race day. By employing the apparatus, race teams can focus their full attention on chassis set-up and the particular engine parameters of the day, i.e., temperature, humidity and surface conditions, instead of worrying about basic engine functions and such matters as whether or not a new ignition system is reliable enough to last through the period of the race.
No known devices comparable to that disclosed and claimed herein are known. Current development is essentially limited to engine testing and set-up on an engine dynamometer. The engine is then installed into the racing chassis at the team's headquarters or at the track. Track time must then be secured, team members assembled, and the equipment shipped to a specific circuit to work out any problems. The apparatus of the present invention is portable and allows for real-time diagnostics of engine, chassis, and drive train performance while not putting the vehicle and driver at risk.